“This is Dima?” Nicolai demanded as the smile left his face and his eyes narrowed to slits.
“Yes,” Seth said as he stepped between me and his leader. “We spoke about this. You knew I was bringing her.”
“The guard dog is Nicolai?” I asked with unhappy shock.
“Well, I suppose you could call him that,” Seth said as he tried unsuccessfully to hide his grin.
“Seth is who you were meeting here?” Nicolai snapped as he pushed Seth aside and pinned me against the wall. “Our Seer is your mate?” he sneered in a whisper.
“Get off of me,” I growled as I fought my death-wish of a need to press closer to him.
“Nicolai,” Elaina admonished as she grabbed the deadly Dragon leader by the ear and pulled him back. “That is no way to treat a guest of your brother.”
Nicolai and Seth were brothers?
“Mother,” Nicolai snapped. “Leave this to me. There is much you don’t understand here.”
Oh. Hell. No. Elaina was their mother? I’d told her that her son was an uncouth jackass, guard pig. Was the sky going to fall next?
“I understand that your behavior is appalling,” she hissed as she once again yanked him by the ear, throwing him off balance. “This will stop now.”
“I was just leaving,” I said stiffly and edged closer to the door.
All of the Dragons in the room were riveted to the scene. Tendrils of smoky aggression wafted around the room menacingly. My chances of survival were getting slimmer by the second.
“You’re not going anywhere, Princess,” Nicolai growled as his took my arm in a vise-like grip.
The hisses started low but gained volume as the crowd correctly pieced my identity together.
“Nicolai, unhand her now,” Seth said in an authoritative voice I hadn’t heard before. “This is the way it’s destined to be. I’ve seen it. We can’t succeed without Dima.”
Ripping my arm away from a surprised Nicolai, I turned on Seth. “You,” I hissed. “You are a liar and you betrayed me.”
“Dima, you don’t understand,” Seth said gently as he approached.
“No, I understand too well,” I ground out through clenched teeth as I realized the bastard Nicolai was blocking the doorway along with about ten other mean looking Dragons. “You’re scum and I’m stupid. Good luck with your fight. I will have no part of this.”
Seth continued to move closer along with his mother, Elaina. Gasps of outrage filled the room and several small fires broke out. God, I was a fool. Dragons were bad, myself included, but I was trying to make so many wrongs right. Letting these people stop me by using me as a pawn was not an option.
“Dima, calm down and let me explain,” Seth pled.
He looked hurt by my accusations and a humorless laugh left my lips.
“You’re really good,” I said flatly. “And you’re an arrogant ass from hell,” I tossed over my shoulder to Nicolai. “But I’m better. I’d say see you later, but if I ever see any of you again, I’ll kill you.”
With that fabulously threatening last line I used my gift—the one I should have kept secret from all Dragons. Although when life or death was on the line, secrets meant absolutely nothing.
I waved my hands and in a fiery blast of shimmering golden smoke and fire, I disappeared. I knew they’d come after me, but they’d have to put out the massive explosive fire I’d created first. I had about an hour head start. I’d worked with less and succeeded.
I could work with this.
I had no choice.
I didn’t need these Dragons to destroy my father. I’d been on my own for years. Keeping it that way was going to be the wisest move I could make.
My father was mine alone and I would succeed.
I had to.
Chapter 6
“Where’s Daniel,” I shouted frantically. “I have to get him out of here. Now.”
In a blast of fiery smoke, I arrived back at Essie’s house in a panic. Essie, Hank, Dwayne and Granny flew into the living room coughing due to the thick smoke my arrival created. With wide eyes and shocked expressions they stared at me as if I was an alien.
“Sweet Baby Jane without mascara, did you just poof here from Chicago?” Dwayne asked as he swiped at the air to tamp down the glittery golden smoke.
“Yes,” I said tersely. “Seth’s a liar. They want to kill me and I don’t have much time to get Daniel out of here and find a safe place to hide.”
“Come with me. I’ll take you to the Cows. I really do have homes all over the world,” Dwayne said. His eyes began to glow and he levitated toward the ceiling.
“I’ll get Daniel ready,” Granny said, hustling out of the room on a mission.
Thankfully they’d all decided to stay at Essie and Hank’s since I was going to meet Seth in Chicago. A one-stop shop was a very good thing right now.
“I want you to take Daniel away. They’ll be coming after me first. It’ll be safer for him if he’s not with me,” I ground out as I paced off the effects of transporting. I was dizzy and slightly nauseous. I’d only transported once in my life, at my mother’s insistence and that was several hundred years ago.
“Are you all right?” Essie asked as she stomped out a few small fires on her living room floor.
“No. And I’m so sorry I’ve destroyed your house.”
“No worries, I didn’t like the carpet anyway,” she replied as she led me to a chair and squatted in front of me. “Tell us what’s going on.”
Hank was right behind her. His fangs had dropped and he was dialing his cell. I assumed he was alerting Junior of the potential shitshow that was impending.
“Junior, it’s Hank. Dima’s back from Chicago. They tried to kill her. I’m putting you on speaker. Guessing we have some Dragons on the way to Hung.”
“Well, sumbitch,” Junior shouted. “I’ll get re-enforcements and pull out the vat of solution. Any chance we could get the Cows down here?”
“No time,” I said tersely. “I figure we have about an hour. I blew up the warehouse and they’ll have to deal with that first. All of you will just be back up. Do you understand me?”
“Well, I can hear you, but I’m definitely not on the same page,” Hank replied, snapping his fangs and clenching his fists. “We fight with you and that’s an order. Period.”
“Hank,” I said evenly as I stood and tested my balance. “That’s not the way it’s going to go down. I want Daniel gone and then I’ll meet the bastards on the beach. I plan to shift and fly like Satan himself is on my heels. I’ll lead them away from Hung. You people are the best thing that’s happened to me in hundreds of years. There is no way in hell I plan to watch you burn.”
Hank’s growl was low, but his displeasure was obvious.
“Should we fly Daniel to the Cows?” Granny asked as she ran back into the room with a sleepy and confused Daniel in her arms. As Vampyres, both Granny and Dwayne could fly.
My heart was in my throat as I stared at the beautiful child I’d created with a man I barely knew. Daniel was the reason I would fight to the death.
“No. I want you to drive. We can’t take a chance that you’d come across the Dragons in the air,” I said as I took my son in my arms and held him tight.
“What’s wong, Mommy?” he asked, touching my face and snuggling close.
“Daniel, there are some bad Dragons that want to hurt us,” I told him. Sadly my four year old needed the ugly truth. “Dwayne and Granny are going to take you far away from here and Mommy is going to make the bad guys leave us alone.”
“Are you going to die, Mommy?” Daniel asked with a serious expression that didn’t belong on the face of a child.
“I don’t know,” I said haltingly. “I promise with all I am that I’ll do everything I can to come back to you, but you must always remember how much I love you. You mean more to me than anything in the world.”
“Me can fight with you, Mommy. I will save you,” he said as fat tears rolled down his chubby pi
nk cheeks.
Words failed me as I held clung to my baby and memorized every part of him.
“Your Mommy is going to kick some major bastard Dragon ass and then we’re going to party at my chateau in Paris,” Dwayne said, gently taking Daniel from my shaking arms. “Give her a kiss for luck and we’re going take you to meet some very wonderful—albeit somewhat odiferous Cows.”
Daniel gave me a wet kiss and touched my face one more time. “You will win, Mommy. I know you will.”
“Take him,” I instructed. “Drive fast but stay safe. Junior, I want you to track them through the chip. Can you do that?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said through the phone. “I’ll know where they are every goddang minute. Hank, there are about six non-traceable burner phones in the junk drawer. Make sure Dwayne and Granny take a few and give the rest to Dima.”
“On it.” Hank sprinted to the kitchen.
“How many Dragons will come?” Essie asked as she filled squirt guns with the Dragon-shift prohibiting solution.
“There were about two hundred there, but I would guess they would send no more than three. It would be too difficult to hide that kind of attack and I’m not sure how valuable I am to them,” I replied as I put several of the filled plastic guns into a bag for Granny and Dwayne.
I knew Dwayne could mind meld and blow up the Dragons, but I wanted them to have every conceivable weapon against my people.
“Not to mention a full on attack would be noticed by the Council and your father. They won’t want that,” Hank said, putting the burner phones in the bag and moving Granny, Dwayne and Daniel to the front door. “Take my truck, it’s less conspicuous than the Hummer.”
“Will do,” Granny said. She squeezed my still shaking hands and looked me in the eye. “We’re gonna get my daughter and son-in-law as well. They’ll be extra protection for Daniel.”
I nodded as my voice wasn’t working. My throat was clogged with tears and a scream that I wouldn’t let out with Daniel present. Essie’s parents were stuck in their Wolf form, but they were deadly and they loved my son.
“Junior,” I choked out. “How close are you to ruining my father financially?”
“Close, but not there yet,” he said through the phone.
“You will keep several million out of what you get and use it for research to reverse the curse on Essie’s parents. If you need more than that, you will take it. Are we clear?”
The room went silent and all eyes were on me.
“What?” I asked as I tore off the eveningwear and put on some fatigues that Granny had pulled for me.
“You’ve paid me back,” Essie said quietly. “You owe me nothing for the rest of time.”
“I can never pay you back, but if the money helps you find a cure you can have all of it.”
Granny touched my face, her eyes swimming with tears. “You don’t worry about Daniel. He’ll be protected and happy always. You focus on comin’ back to him.”
I nodded curtly and armed myself as my world walked out the front door and left. A chill ran through my blood and the upset, shaky woman I was only moments ago was disappeared. My Dragon was very close to the surface and I embraced her. I was now the heartless killing machine that my kind was known for.
“I can’t believe Seth pulled one over on all of us,” Essie muttered in disgust.
“He’s a Seer,” I hissed as I pictured his lying horrible face. “And the best actor I’ve ever seen.”
“A Seer?” Hank asked in surprise. “Seers are celibate.”
“Hence the boobs not working,” Essie grumbled. “I’d like to tear his head off.”
“Get in line,” I snarled. “I’m going to the beach to shift and wait for them. I have a fireproof bag at the bed and breakfast. Can you guys get it and load it with the phones and solution? You can put it around my neck after I shift.”
“Um…guys?” Junior’s voice crackled through the phone. “We’ve got incoming. I’ve got cameras along the shore and I’m seeing four flying fuckers landing on the beach.”
“Only four?” I shouted as I sprinted for the door. I couldn’t shift inside the house. It would tear it off its foundation. I needed to be outside.
“Yep, and they don’t look happy.”
“I call one,” Essie said as she armed herself and took off ahead of me.
“No, I can take four,” I muttered as I tore off the clothes I’d just put on. “Four will be a breeze.”
Famous last words…
Chapter 7
Much to my extreme shock, the Dragons had shifted back to human form. I quickly did the same and gratefully accepted the loose dress Essie tossed me when I noticed Nicolai eyeing my naked body hungrily. He was a disgusting pig. He represented everything I hated about my kind—sex and death.
Thankfully, Junior was as good as his word. The beach was filled with Shifters of every kind and the air literally vibrated with hostility. I briefly wondered if Jimbob was here, but I had far more dangerous things to worry about—and all four were staring at me.
Nicolai, Seth, their mother Elaina and Boring Coat Taker Dude stood together at the shore- line and took in the scene warily. My stomach clenched as I remembered Elaina saying there was no one as powerful as Nicolai in the world. My only solace was that she’d never seen me fight. I had more to lose than they did and I would die for my cause.
“I told you the next time I saw you, I would kill you,” I said calmly as I stepped forward leaving the packs of Shifters behind me. “So unless you plan on dying in the next five minutes, I’d suggest you leave.”
“Dima, you’ve misunderstood what’s happened,” Seth said taking a tentative step forward.
“No, I didn’t Seer,” I growled as my Dragon demanded release. Holding her back was difficult, but I learned patience in my many years on earth. “You’re very good, but I’m far better. Blackmailing my father for my release is futile. My father hates me as much as I despise him. Killing me is just stupid and shortsighted. You Dragons have hellacious intel if that’s your pathetic plan. It’s no wonder you’ve failed for hundreds of years.”
Nicolai’s growl of fury and the fire that sparked around him almost made me back up, but I held my ground. He was wildly overwhelming and ungodly beautiful. I despised him for igniting desire in me. He was evil and I needed to be smacked for being attracted to someone who would happily see me dead. Showing fear would be my downfall and I was not going to die.
However, I was terrified some of the Shifters on the beach might. I needed to take this battle elsewhere. The power emanating from behind me was enormous and I knew the Shifters would fight, but Dragons were not something to play with.
“Dima, we have no plans to trade or kill you,” Elaina said as she, too stepped forward. “I knew you as a child and your mother was my friend.”
She was no longer muting her power and she was tremendously strong. My gut felt sucker punched with her revelation and I now realized why I thought I recognized her only hours ago in Chicago. I vaguely remembered a group of women that had attended to my mother and Elaina’s face was among them.
“You knew who I was the whole time?” I demanded angrily.
Were they all in on this?
“I did,” she replied with a nod and a sweet smile. “Seth has seen this and we need you as much as you need us. The violence will not end unless we come together.”
“I call bullshit,” I snapped.
“It’s true, you ungrateful woman. I don’t want you anymore than you want us, but I trust my brother’s vision more than I despise you,” Nicolai ground out as he took his place next to his family.
“Back at you asshole,” I growled.
It was all Nicolai could do to hang on to his temper and not go for my throat. I watched the struggle and enjoyed it thoroughly. His mother had hold of his arm and Seth stepped in front of him. Coat Guy just stood back and watched. Was he Elaina’s mate? I didn’t think so, but anything was possible.
“My mo
ther tells the truth,” Seth said in the same kind voice he always used. “I have seen many things and success will only be ours if we join forces.”
“What else have you seen?” Essie demanded as she, Hank, and Junior moved to me and flanked my sides.
“Unbelievable,” Elaina muttered as she marveled at the picture of Werewolves and Dragons united together. “She really is the link.”
“I’m not a link,” I corrected her rudely. “I’m a person with a mission and I have no time for incompetent Dragons to slow me down.”
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